On Thursday, January 5, 2017, Stephen Gallagher <sgall...@redhat.com> wrote:
> # Overview > > For many years, Fedora has supported multilib by carrying > parallel-installable > libraries in /usr/lib[64]. This was necessary for a very long time in > order to > support 32-bit applications running on a 64-bit deployment. However, in > today's > new container world, there is a whole new option. > > I'd like to propose that we consider moving away from our traditional > approach > to multilib in favor of recommending the use of a 32-bit container runtime > when > needed on a 64-bit host. > > > ## Advantages > > * Simplification of build-tree creation. We wouldn't have to maintain the > lists > and hacks that are required to make sure that multilib packages land in the > correct repositories. > > * Less duplication of content in the mirror networks. > > * It will be simpler to create module content without having to > reimplement all > the multilib hacks of above. This is directly relevant to the Base Runtime > module, whose prototype is today intentionally limited to the primary > architecture (no multilib). > > * Requires us to maintain and keep up-to-date the 32-bit container base > images. > > > ## Disadvantages > > * If we eliminate multilib entirely, all applications that use 32-bit libs > will > have to either install a 32-bit host OS or install into a container. This > may be > a difficult transition for some users. > * Mitigation: develop and maintain tools to ease this transition. > > * It is unlikely that any clean upgrade path would exist. (We could make it > *technically* possible, but likely not without breaking 32-bit software not > installed by RPM. > > * Requires us to maintain and keep up-to-date the 32-bit container base > images. > (Yes, this is both an advantage and disadvantage.) > > > ## Open Questions (non-exhaustive): > > * Can SSSD and systemd's 32-bit name-service modules work from within a > container, talking to their host's service? Without that, 32-bit containers > won't be able to resolve users, groups or hostnames. > > * Can we have 32-bit containers communicate with other local system APIs > such as > D-BUS on the host? > > * Do we need to care about 32-bit GUI applications on a 64-bit system? > Should we > decide that flatpak is the official answer for such cases? > > This proposal is more or less "let's make life a bit easier for us in expense of our users". Your proposal shifts the hacks to the users. There are still a lot of 32bit software out there. In stead of having it just work you are asking users to fiddle around with hacks / jumping through hoops. So your proposal would cause way more harm than good.
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